Big ranking implications ahead of Grand Slam of Darts: Luke Littler starts to defend prize money with huge chunk on the line as Michael van Gerwen begins bid to beat the drop
PDC
The Grand Slam of Darts 2026 could have major implications for several players on the PDC Order of Merit. After the tournament, the prize money from the 2024 edition will come off the rankings.
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Martin Lukeman, Mickey Mansell and Gary Anderson are among those facing a significant drop. For other players, including Michael van Gerwen, Luke Humphries and Wessel Nijman, the tournament offers an excellent chance to gain ground.
The Grand Slam of Darts will be played in Wolverhampton from 14 to 22 November. For the first time, the field will feature 48 players, while the total prize fund has also increased considerably. Two years ago, the total prize money stood at £650,000, with £150,000 going to the winner. Every player received at least £3,500.
This year, the prize fund has risen to £1 million. The winner will receive £200,000, and every player is guaranteed at least £5,000. That means players who have qualified again are guaranteed to earn more than the minimum payout from two years ago. Those who went further in 2024 will, of course, have to account for the prize money coming off the rankings.
Luke Littler has £150,000 to defend
Luke Littler has more prize money to defend than any other player. 'The Nuke' won the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts, claiming his first ranking major. In the final, the then 17-year-old Englishman beat surprise finalist Martin Lukeman by a commanding 16-3.
That victory earned Littler £150,000. The amount will come off his ranking total after this year’s tournament. However, the current world number one has little to worry about. Littler leads the second-placed player by more than £2 million, leaving him firmly at the top.
The Englishman could also earn £200,000 with another title, boosting his ranking total by £50,000.
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Luke Littler is the defending champion at the Grand Slam of Darts
Martin Lukeman risks losing his Tour Card
The impact is much greater for Martin Lukeman. The Englishman enjoyed the biggest success of his career in 2024, reaching the Grand Slam of Darts final as a surprise contender. His runner-up finish earned him £70,000.
Lukeman failed to qualify for this year’s tournament, however. He will therefore lose the full amount without a chance to earn replacement prize money in Wolverhampton.
The Englishman is currently 43rd in the world rankings, but will fall outside the top 64 once his prize money is removed. His PDC Tour Card will also be under serious threat.
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Mickey Mansell will also take a significant hit. The Northern Irishman reached the semi-finals as a surprise package two years ago, earning £50,000. With no place in this year’s field, he is expected to drop from 41st to around 57th.
Gary Anderson was the other beaten semi-finalist in 2024. The two-time world champion has also failed to qualify for the upcoming edition. The Scot is currently 14th in the world rankings, but will drop out of the top 16 when £50,000 comes off his total.
Four quarter-finalists have £25,000 to defend
Cameron Menzies, Rob Cross, Jermaine Wattimena and Gian van Veen reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts. Each of the four earned £25,000.
All four have qualified again and will have the chance to defend that amount. This time, they must reach at least the last 16 to do so, as the increased prize fund means that round is now worth £20,000. A place in the quarter-finals is worth £35,000 this year.
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Wattimena and Van Veen, in particular, have an opportunity to strengthen their positions in the world rankings.
Players with the most prize money at stake
| Name | Result | Prize money | Qualified in 2026 |
| Luke Littler | Champion | £150.000 | Yes |
| Martin Lukeman | Runner-up | £70.000 | No |
| Mickey Mansell | Semi-final | £50.000 | No |
| Gary Anderson | Semi-final | £50.000 | No |
| Cameron Menzies | Quarter-final | £25.000 | Yes |
| Rob Cross | Quarter-final | £25.000 | Yes |
| Jermaine Wattimena | Quarter-final | £25.000 | Yes |
| Gian van Veen | Quarter-final | £25.000 | Yes |
Dimitri Van den Bergh also under pressure
Eight players exited in the last 16 in 2024. James Wade, Danny Noppert, Ross Smith, Ritchie Edhouse, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Mike De Decker, Stephen Bunting and Ryan Joyce each earned £12,500. Of those eight, Wade, Smith and Bunting have qualified again. The other five are absent this year and will lose their full amounts.
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Dimitri Van den Bergh, in particular, can ill afford that. The Belgian has fallen sharply down the world rankings in recent months and is closing in on the top-64 cutoff.
Van den Bergh also has yet to secure a World Championship place. To retain his Tour Card, he must qualify through one of the final two World Championship qualifiers and then reach at least the third round of the tournament.
Michael Smith, Dave Chisnall, Peter Wright, Keane Barry and Mensur Suljović are also absent this year, despite competing in 2024. They were all eliminated in the group stage, however, so their losses in the world rankings remain relatively small.
Dimitri Van den Bergh also risks missing the World Championship and losing his Tour Card
Michael van Gerwen could make a big leap
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While several players have a lot of prize money to defend, others have very little to lose. Luke Humphries was surprisingly eliminated in the group stage two years ago. The same happened to Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock and Wessel Nijman, among others.
As a result, they have only a small amount to defend and could benefit significantly from the increased prize fund with a strong result.
The tournament comes at an important time for Van Gerwen in particular. The three-time world champion is currently 11th in the PDC Order of Merit, but has already slipped to 21st in the virtual world rankings after the World Darts Championship.
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The Dutchman therefore needs to earn plenty of prize money in the coming months to maintain his place among the world’s elite. With little ranking money to defend at the Grand Slam of Darts, the tournament in Wolverhampton offers an ideal chance to improve his position.
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Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026